Never Alone
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: "But you're not lonely, Teddy!" Teddy explains to Lily about death, and in return she teaches him how to live life.
1. Why Do People Die?

Teddy Lupin was small.

This surprised everyone, though everyone knew it shouldn't really be surprising. Remus was only a little over average height, and Tonks had been several inches shorter tan everyone. Ginny once decided--though she never said it out loud--that it was because Tonks was loud. She had an expanding presence that made her seem taller.

Teddy Lupin was small from birth. He was also good at blending in. Some people said it was because he was a Metamorphmagus, but that wasn't it. Not really. Teddy just liked being invisible without really disappearing.

The day his grandmother died, Teddy felt smaller than he had in his entire life. He simply allowed himself to melt into the walls--metaphorically of course--and watch everyone else be sad without having to shed a single tear of his own.

"Teddy!" Victoire called softly, even as she walked right past him. He wanted to call out to her, but he was afraid if she came near him he would hit her. Teddy had this fear a lot, but today it was worse.

"Teddy!" she cried, louder this time, as she stomped her foot. "Will you stop hiding?"

Closing his eyes, Teddy counted to ten. Her knew as well as anyone that this is not actually a sufficient method of calming down, but it did stop him from strangling the little blonde girl.

Teddy like Victoire of course. She was his cousin, or as close as he had to a cousin. But she was so annoying! Then again, the same could be said for the majority of the Weasley/Potter clan.

"Teddy?" Ginny called pleadingly, appearing from nowhere. "We have to go home."

Teddy looked around, shocked, as he realized that the service was over. He had been so caught up in watching the misery he had almost forgot why they were actually sad. Almost.

"Come one Teddy," Harry told him suddenly, appearing to his side and taking hold of his shoulder as he steered him away. "Let's go."

Harry could always find Teddy. Teddy wasn't sure if this made him feel safe or annoyed. He decided it was both. Somehow, even when he was doing his best to blend into his surroundings, or melt into a crowd, only Harry could always spot him right away. Well, Harry and…

"Lily," Teddy asked suddenly, his voice void of emotion. "What are you doing?"

"Don't go!" the tiny red-haired girl screamed as she threw her arms around his leg, sobbing into his jeans and clinging to it for dear life as he continued walking at normal speed.

"I'm going home with you," Teddy told her, confused by her irrational behavior. He didn't stop walking, however, as he was already behind Harry and Ginny.

"Don't leave me!" Lily sobbed, and Teddy was vaguely aware that she was getting his jeans all snotty. Sighing, he stopped and bent over to pry the tiny redhead from his leg.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked her, and it felt like such a stupid question to ask as he was leaving a funeral, but in a way, talking to Lily helped. She was only five years old, and tiny for her age. She had always seemed so little and fragile, and Teddy had always felt especially protective of her.

Lily didn't answer, distraught beyond words, and simply grabbed hold of his arms when he bent down and hoisted herself up so that she was clinging to his hest, sobbing into his shoulder as he held her.

"Lily," he said, shocked, as he turned to look for a bench. Seeing that there wasn't one anywhere in the near vicinity, he sighed again and sat in the dirt.

"Why do people die?" Lily sniffled, not looking up at him. The question caught Teddy off guard, and he sat there for a moment, puzzled.

"Well…" he began slowly, but trailed off. He smoothed her hair absentmindedly as he searched for an answer. "Well, I suppose we just have to. Everyone dies."

This, apparently, was not the answer Lily was looking for, and she erupted into a whole new bout of sobbing.

"Hey," Teddy said softly, patting her back. "It's not so bad," he told her, and the words surprised even him. "People have to die, or new people couldn't be born."

Lily quieted the tiniest bit. "Why?" she asked him.

"Well, because if we didn't die, and people kept having babies, then there would be no place to put everyone, and we would all be crowded together.

Lily sniffled again, and wiped her nose on Teddy's shirt. He rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"So," Lily began cautiously, as if somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't say what she was about to say. "Your parents died because they had to?"

That question really stumped Teddy. It took him a full two minutes to respond, simply because of the fact that he didn't understand either. And he told her so.

"I don't know," Teddy answered honestly. This seemed to surprise Lily, but Teddy continued. "My parents didn't die like my grandma did. She was very old. But my parents, they were really young. And I don't think it was time for them to go when they did."

"So why did they die?" Lily asked, interested by now. Her eyes were growing wider by the second, and Teddy figured that as long as he could explain it to her in logical terms, maybe she would stop crying.

"Because," Teddy started carefully. "There was a wizard once who was unlike everyone else. He wanted to be the ruler of the whole world, even muggles, and he started two big wars."

"And my daddy saved everyone," Lily finished, awe in her voice. She had obviously heard he abridged version of this story before.

Teddy didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Even at the age of five, Lily was good at reading people.

"Not everyone," she amended. "Not your mommy and daddy. And not my Uncle Fred."

Teddy shook his head, and Lily continued. "Why did he do that?"

Teddy was confused. "He didn't mean to," he told her. "He tried to save everyone, but-"

Lily shook her head impatiently. "Not Daddy," she insisted. "The bad wizard. Why did he kill your mommy and daddy?"

Teddy couldn't believe that the most thought-provoking conversation he'd ever had was with a five-year-old. "I don't know," he told her truthfully.

"I do," she concluded, almost as if she were talking to herself. Then she raised her eyebrows at Teddy, beckoning him closer with her hand, as if she were going to share with him the secret of life. Then she whispered, "I bet he was lonely."

Teddy nodded, and Lily threw her arms around him again and hugged him as tight as she could. "But you're not lonely, Teddy!" she informed him loudly, right next to his ear. "You'll never be lonely, because you have me! And even if your mommy and daddy and grandma aren't here, I'll always be here forever, and Jamie, and Albus, and Vic, and Mommy, and Daddy, and-"

"You're right," Teddy said, smiling slightly as she picked her up and hurried to try and catch up with Harry and Ginny. "I'll never be lonely."

*********

**I don't own, you don't sue,**

**I write stories 'cause I hope you'll review!**

**:)  
**


	2. Why Did You Leave Like That?

Teddy Lupin liked not being seen. It felt good, knowing he could slip, unnoticed, out of any room, simply disappearing into the wall.

That was why he couldn't stand Lily Potter.

"Why did you leave like that?" she demanded, appearing suddenly behind him. Her voice was barely audible over the pouring rain, but Teddy hear her loud and clear.

"The storm will ruin your hair," he informed her nonchalantly. He didn't tell her this because he thought she would care, just the opposite actually; he said it simply to make her mad.

To his surprise, the redhead, whom he had come to know as the one with the fiery temper, remained calm. He still didn't turn to face her, but he could picture easily the stone cold expression on her face as she replied, low and deadly, "I'm not Victoire."

Teddy winced as he realized her words had a double meaning. She was, rightfully, implying that Victoire would not have followed Teddy outside in the storm for fear her precious hair would frizz. But it was more than that. Teddy and Lily both knew that Lily would never have thrown the fit Victoire just threw, the reason Teddy had fled from the suddenly claustrophobic Burrow after delivering his rather shocking news.

"But you can't blame her," Lily continued, keeping her tone light and her face set in an unreadable expression. "You've been dating on and off for three years, and you gave her no indication that it was doomed to fail, even though it was obvious to the rest of us."

"Dammit!" Teddy cried out in an unusual display of frustration. He clutched his shaggy and now bright red hair. "You're freaking thirteen!" he yelled, startling her momentarily. "You aren't supposed to be this damn _wise_! You're supposed to throw fits and yell and scream and care more about clothes than people. You're _supposed_ to tell me not to move to Romania!"

"I already told you!" Lily shot back, screaming to be heard over the storm, which was now picking up and threatening to carry both of their voices away if they didn't speak up. "I'm. Not. Victoire! I won't scream and yell and beg you not to leave. If it'll make you happy, by all means go! You've never been happy!"

"I'm happy!" Teddy yelled at her defiantly, but even as he said it, he knew she wasn't the one he was trying to convince.

"Oh, yeah?" Lily asked. Teddy thought he sensed sarcasm, but he couldn't be sure when she said it with such volume.

"Yeah!" he snapped. "I have family and friends and pretty soon I'll have a job. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"I don't know," Lily said, and it was clear to Teddy that she was being honest; this question really did stump her. "But you aren't, and you deserve to be. So go, and don't worry about everyone else. Don't worry about my mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa. Don't worry about Victoire. Don't worry about anyone! Just go. Don't worry about me. Not that you would anyway."

Teddy spun around. He had no idea what he planned on saying to Lily. Maybe he was going to yell at her some more. Or maybe he would try and comfort her, assure her he did worry about her, more than he worried about anyone else. As it turns out, what he wanted to say was ni longer an issue, because where Lily Potter had a moment ago been standing, there were now two lime green flip-flops she had stepped out of when she ran from him.

"Dammit," Teddy said again, but quieter this time, under his breath. "Lily?" he called. Muttering curses, he took off after her.

"Lily!" he yelled as he searched the woods near the Burrow. "Lily!"

A half hour later and a good deal wetter, Teddy returned to the Burrow alone.

"Where's Lily?" someone asked Teddy the moment he stepped in the door, shaking raindrops out of his hair. He tried not to take it personally. While Teddy and Lily had both been known to disappear from time to time, Teddy wasn't the one with a reputation for not coming back.

"I can't find her," Teddy admitted, guilt forming a pit in his stomach.

James Potter looked like he wanted to punch Teddy in the face for losing his little sister, but other than him no one was paying much attention to Teddy. They were all already out the door.

Teddy was feeling guiltier by the second. He knew he should never have allowed Lily to run from him. He knew she tended to lose track of time, and when she lost track of time, she forgot where she was. When she forgot where she was, she panicked, and when she panicked she became totally lost. Teddy knew this as well as anyone.

Not stopping to think of anything but his own guilt, Teddy raced ahead of the rest of the makeshift search party, calling Lily's name and silently begging her to come back.

Inwardly cursing himself for losing his temper with her, Teddy searched for Lily for an hour. He knew he should have stayed calm, but…

Well, Lily had always been the only one who could ever trigger a reaction from Teddy. She could push all the wrong buttons that brought on all sorts of emotional outbursts. Even Victoire had never been able to spark any sort of emotion in him, subject only to his usual indifference.

Teddy was jerked from his thoughts by the sudden sight of Lily, lying in the grass unconscious. For a horrible moment a million frightening thoughts jumped into his mind, but he cursed again when he touched her shoulder lightly and discovered that she was simply asleep.

Lily let out a tiny snore and wrapped her arms around herself, clearly uncomfortable. Teddy sighed as he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her, then lifted her carefully and carried her back.

When Teddy got to the Burrow Lily still hadn't woken up. Everyone was already back by then, looking anxious and worried, and several dozen people sighed in relief when they saw Teddy with Lily.

"Is she alright?" Ginny demanded as soon as he was inside.

"She's asleep," Teddy grumbled, annoyed that she had everyone, especially him, so worried for nothing. "She fell asleep in the woods."

Molly Weasley laughed nervously and Victoire rolled her eyes, causing Roxanne to smack her. Roxanne was arguably Lily's favorite cousin, and neither of them could stand Victoire, an opinion they voiced regularly.

"I'll take her home," Harry said, biting his lip as he looked at his daughter, drenched from the rain and asleep in Teddy's arms, looking vulnerable. He was the epitome of an overprotective father, a stereotype Teddy had never pictured him fitting until that moment.

"It's alright," Teddy muttered. "I was thinking of heading home anyway. I'll just leave her on the couch or something."

James rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place," Teddy told the fireplace, speaking clearly but quietly so as not to wake Lily up.

When they got home, Teddy set Lily carefully on the couch in the living room, draping a blanket over her in the hope that it would make up for her sad clothes. Just as Teddy turned to go upstairs, he realized something that made him feel very stupid. Turning back towards Lily, he pulled his wand out of his pocket and used a drying spell to dry her clothes.

Walking upstairs, Teddy made a point of memorizing every picture that lined the staircase. James, Albus, Teddy, and Lily in every year of their lives. Pictures of ever Weasley and Potter he'd ever met, and several he hadn't. One he recognized as Harry's parents. And one of his own parents. Looking around to make sure no one was watching--although this was pointless and unnecessary--Teddy snatched that picture off the wall. He had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing Number 12 Grimmauld Place for a while.

That picture was the last thing he put in his suitcase before he left, unnoticed, for the last time.

*********

**I don't own,**

**You don't sue,**

**I write stories,**

**So you'll review!**

**:)  
**

**Hope you like this chapter, there's more coming up!**


	3. What's there to say?

Funerals. Teddy had always hated funerals. He would rather be any place but here.

But he knew he had to be. Teddy knew that he owed it to Arthur Weasley, the man who had played the role of his grandfather all his life, to be here. He owed it to everyone really.

Teddy had been in Romania for three years now. He had visited Harry and Ginny once, while Lily was still away at school, and he had owled Albus and James when they graduated, but other than that he'd had no contact whatsoever with his family. Not even Arthur Weasley. And now he never would again.

No one noticed Teddy as he slipped into the room. His hair was black for the occasion, which should have been a dead giveaway in the room of mostly redheads, but still no one payed him any attention. That is, until he took a deep breath and closed the door behind him, then he instantly felt two bony arms around him and all he could see was red hair as someone sobbed into his shoulder, but he didn't have to ask to know who he was holding.

"Shh," Teddy said in what he hoped but doubted was a soothing voice. "It's alright." Even as he said the words, he knew they weren't true.

"Lily," Teddy muttered, uncomfortable, as he attempted to maneuver them towards the couch. "Come on, it's gonna be okay."

"Good luck," a familiar voice said coldly. Teddy looked up to see James Potter glaring down at him. "She hasn't stopped crying since it happened." James's anger wavered slightly when he glanced toward his sister, but Teddy was soon subject to the full force of it.

"Wait--was she…there?" Teddy asked, bewildered. "When he died?"

James bit his lip. "Yeah," he admitted, and Teddy sensed guilt in his voice. "We were all taking turns staying with him, so he wasn't alone, y'know? I tried to leave her alone there as little as possible, but I had to work and…um…she won't talk about it," he added, changing the subject.

Teddy looked down at the sobbing figure in his arms. She seemed more pale than the last time he'd seen her, and definitely skinnier. What worried him was that the change was too drastic to have happened only in the week since Arthur's death.

Teddy looked up to consult James, but he was already gone. Instead, he saw another familiar face, one he would gladly have traded to have James back here.

"Victoire," Teddy said, hoping he sounded nonchalant, when really all he felt was exhausted.

"Teddy," she replied coolly. "It's been a while. Three years, right?"

Teddy held back every sarcastic remark that bubbled to the surface of his thoughts, but he couldn't quiet help but roll his eyes. This was probably not a smart move.

"Well!" Victoire replied indignantly. "As if you are the one who should be annoyed. As if you were the one whose heart was left sitting on the floor of the Burrow. As if you were the one who missed you so much she made herself sick over it!"

This last thing confused Teddy. While Victoire did have a tendency to lean towards the overdramatic, it was uncharacteristic of her to allow herself to become so attached to someone.

"Relax," she spat, rolling her eyes as she noted Teddy's bewildered expression. "I wasn't referring to me." She looked disdainfully--yet somehow sympathetically--towards Lily.

Now Teddy was really confused. He was the reason she now resembled a broom handle? But why would she miss him that much. They couldn't stand each other! At least, not usually. Teddy knew they had their moments. He had always felt the need to protect her, and she had always come to him for advice before anyone else, but the rest of the time they were at each other's throat! Fighting like cat and dog and out for blood!

Teddy was so preoccupied with these thoughts that he didn't notice the lack of sobbing in the background until Lily had already stood up.

No one saw it coming, really. Well, Victoire must have seen it coming, but it was coming so fast, she didn't have time to register it. Lily's fist that is.

That's right. Lily Potter punched Victoire Weasley in the nose. There was a very satisfying crunching sound before Teddy could even realize what she was doing much less grab her arm in a feeble attempt to stop it.

"Lily!" he cried, shocked.

"That felt good," was Lily's only reply, and she said it so devoid of any emotion that it surprised no one when, a moment later, she began to cry all over again.

By the time Teddy had managed to half-drag-half-carry Lily outside to sit in the grass, she had quieted down considerably. Much to the surprise of Ginny and Roxanne, both of whom had apparently been trying to console her for days.

Once outside, Teddy had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Lily spared him the awkward small-talk.

"It was awful," she began, sniffling in her effort to control her emotions. At first Teddy thought she meant punching Victoire, but then she continued. "He was just lying there, barely breathing. His skin was all clammy, and his eyes were only half shut. Then he opened one--just one eye--and stared at me for a moment. Then he said, 'take care of them' and just…died." Lily began to cry again.

"I'll never forgot that," she sobbed into Teddy's shoulder. "I'll never forget that he told me--me!--to take care of his family. I'll let him down, I know I will."

Teddy didn't say anything. What was there to say?


	4. What's His Name?

It had been two years, and still Teddy would never admit what made him stay. During the day he would avoid thinking about it, and no one brought it up, but at night the thought haunted him, anchoring him to his home: if Lily, seventeen-year-old, scatterbrained, _fragile_ Lily was going to take on the task of watching over her entire family, who would take care of her?

That was where Teddy came in.

So even though they had their fights, and even though they were certainly nastier than any normal fight between two friends, and even though Teddy often promised himself that he would pack up and leave, when Lily told, not asked, him to meet her for lunch one day in the summer following her graduation, saying she had news, it was no surprise to Teddy, or anyone else for that matter, that he would be the first one she would share it with.

It was a surprise, however, when Teddy, who had shown up at the agreed meeting place five minutes late and still had to wait ten minutes for her, saw Lily walk in and give a wave that, for some odd reason, seemed to deflect sunlight. Oh, nevermind; it wasn't the wave itself, just the engagement ring on her finger.

Wait...what?

Teddy stood to greet her, a formal gesture that normally would have been too polite for two people who knew each other so well, but it seemed as though once the ring was on her finger, Lily had become an entirely different person. Someone Teddy didn't even know and wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

This couldn't be happening. Teddy had just seen her last night and, after running a brief mental analysis, was sure that, had the aforementioned ring been on her finger at the time, he would have noticed it.

Without waiting for a greeting, Lily dove right into the subject of her news by wiggling her left hand at Teddy. "We're engaged!" she practically screamed, getting annoyed glances from the other diners which she skillfully ignored.

At first Teddy didn't know who she was talking about. It wasn't that he was "denying the truth" or anything, he was truly stumped. Lily didn't bring guys home. Sure she'd been going out a lot lately, and Teddy remembered hearing her mention a boyfriend in passing, but Teddy felt strangely...exposed by this sudden change of events. As though someone had ripped open the shower curtain without him ever having realized they were in the bathroom. He was sure Lily would have at least told him a _name _before the relationship got to the point of an engagement!

And that was when it hit him, and it hit him hard. Oh, there was a _name_ alright, and the name in itself explained why Lily had rarely mentioned her boyfriend, much less_ introduced_ him to anyone. Oh yes, there was a name.

And that name was Scorpius Malfoy.


	5. Message To My Readers

**A MESSAGE TO MY READERS**

VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Honey, I'm home! Yes, I'm at it again. For a while I had decided that I was going to focus on more productive writing, but you know what? Fanfiction is fun, and I miss it! So here I am, writing again.

I am, however, writing under a new pen name. My new account is Princess Corkey, and below you will find a list of stories that will be on that as well as a link.

* * *

New Profile: .net/u/3790840/Princess_Corkey

**Lost In Another Time**: This story was so much fun to write, and I reread it often for inspiration, but I recently realized how much I've grown as a writer since then, and it makes me wish I could rewrite it, and I realized, why don't I? So here it is, the remastering of Lost, now called **Her Name Was Alexandra**. Three chapters are already up. Not much different yet, but I am hoping to add to it. I want to explore the Lily/James relationship in it a little further, as well as add a few more supporting characters and straighten out the timeline. Suggestions? Love 'em! Link: .net/s/8151596/1/Her_Name_Was_Alexandra

**My Other Half: **MOH will be remastered much the same as Lost, under the name **The Other Half**. I would like Allyson to have a few personality changes, making her less unpredictable so to convey that she is more vulnerably than I initially showed. Also, I would like this story to be a little longer and completely change the last chapter for I look back and feel it is a terrible ending.

**Kiss Me In The Rain, Fallen Angel, Look Into The Future, Delusions of Grandeur, **: Existing chapters will remain mostly the same, possible minor tweaking, but the story will be reposted and continued on the new account.

**Tension, Uncomfortable, A Forgotten Story**: Will be tweaked slightly for typos, but otherwise will remain the same and simply reposted on the new account.

**Never Alone, Meet The Family, All's Fair in Love and Friendship, Katie Bell: Socially Inept: **Existing chapters will be rewritten and then story will be continued on the new account. **(All's fair will be shortened to simply that. I don't like longer titles for most stories.)**

**My Star Chaser (To become simply Star Chaser), Not My Night, and Cinderella Masquerade, Lily Potter: Daughter, Sister, and Disappointment (To become Lily Potter: Disappointment)**: Possibly rewritten, but lower on the priority list. Saving for a rainy day or once all above projects are completed.


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